A favorite warm weather pastime offers so much fun and tranquility with the beautiful view and fresh sea breeze. But do you know that there is so much more that visiting the beach has to offer than just giving you a good time? Here are several health benefits of visiting the beach that older adults are set to enjoy.
Natural Vitamin D
A dose of vitamin D is essential for everyone and you can easily get your daily dose naturally by soaking up the sun. You can just spend a little time at the beach during the day to let your skin absorb all the natural vitamin D. This can help you boost your immune system and it also supports the development of teeth and bones. Vitamin D is also effective in helping you fight certain diseases and support weight loss.
Reduces Arthritis Symptoms
Spending some time in the ocean may help to reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Studies have found that individuals who loved soaking up in seawater experienced reduced morning stiffness. Saltwater dehydrates body cells that have inflamed, thus reducing inflammation. Salt is absorbed into the skin to reduce pain and swelling.
Increases Creativity
Studies have shown that visiting the beach can make you feel much happier while helping to increase creativity. A marine biologist wrote about this insight that explains how being near the water can calm our nerves, but it also improves creativity. This lets us feel more open to new ideas and explains why many find the beach to be highly inspiring.
Reduces Pain
We usually go barefoot when walking around the beach. This provides us with the perfect chance to try grounding which means to connect to the Earth’s surface electrons by walking directly on it. This may be an under-researched point but it does help to reduce fatigue on our feet and can improve chronic pain. Walking on the beach is also a better workout as compared to walking on concrete as you have to work much harder even when you are walking at the same speed.
Soothing Air
For many of us, the smell of ocean air is synonymous with a warm, peaceful summer. This scent is undoubtedly soothing and can easily help you relax. Research has also shown that the smell of the ocean is highly calming for our brains as we breathe in negative ions which can have a soothing effect. Negative ions also improve your ability to absorb oxygen so your serotonin levels can remain well-balanced.
Reduced Screen Time
When we are at the beach, we have a higher tendency to spend lesser time on our tech gadgets. Too much screen time has been shown to cause poor sleep, poor vision, neck and back pain, and impaired cognitive function. By staying away from our tech gadgets for several hours, we are letting our bodies rejuvenate.
Better Sleep
The beach is known to have a soothing effect on our body which would help us get better sleep at night. Although there has been no specific research on this topic, most people sleep an average of 47 minutes longer after spending a day at the beach.
